Hiring door supervisors in the UK: a practical buyer’s guide

When you need licensed door supervisors

In the UK, door supervision is a licensable activity under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). You need a door supervisor licence to guard licensed premises against damage, theft, unauthorised access or disorderly behaviour. “Licensed premises” here means a venue licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises or to provide regulated entertainment.

Unlike most security roles, this applies whether the door team is supplied by a contractor or employed directly by the venue. If someone is checking ID, searching bags, refusing entry or removing customers at a licensed venue during its licensed hours, assume they need a door supervisor licence and check the SIA guidance for your situation.

Your premises licence may also set conditions of its own, such as a minimum number of SIA-licensed door supervisors on certain nights or after a certain time. Under the Licensing Act 2003, where a premises licence requires people to carry out security activity, each of them must be SIA licensed. Read your licence conditions before you brief anyone: they are the floor, not the target.

Working out how many door supervisors you need

There is no single legal ratio of door supervisors to customers. The right number comes from your licence conditions, your own risk assessment and any advice from the police or licensing authority. Factors that usually drive the number up include:

• Capacity and how quickly the venue fills or empties
• Number of entrances, fire exits and smoking areas to cover
• Late opening hours, promoted nights or ticketed events
• Searching or ID scanning at the door, which slows entry
• History of incidents, local hotspots or a cumulative impact area
• Whether you need mixed-gender teams for searching

Ask any provider to explain how they arrived at their recommended numbers, and to put the deployment in writing for each type of night you run.

Martyn’s Law and what it may change for venues

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. The government set an implementation period of at least 24 months, and the SIA, which will regulate it, currently expects the Act to come into force in spring 2027.

Once in force, qualifying premises where 200 to 799 people may be present at the same time (the standard tier) will need public protection procedures and to notify the SIA of the responsible person. Premises where 800 or more may be present (the enhanced tier), and qualifying events, will also need documented public protection measures. Your door team is likely to play a part in evacuation, invacuation and lockdown procedures, so it is worth planning their role now. Check the official guidance for how the tiers apply to your premises.

What to put in the brief

A clear written brief, often called assignment instructions, is what turns licensed individuals into a team that works the way your venue works. A good brief covers:

• Your entry and admissions policy, dress code and refusal wording
• Your age verification policy (such as Challenge 21 or Challenge 25) and accepted forms of ID
• Search policy: who is searched, where, and what happens to prohibited items
• Capacity counting, queue layout and dispersal at closing time
• Welfare and vulnerability: spotting and helping vulnerable customers, and any schemes you run, such as Ask for Angela
• Incident logs, refusal logs, body-worn video and how footage is handled
• Radio links with bar staff, management and any local Pubwatch or Nightsafe scheme
• Emergency procedures, fire evacuation routes and first aid arrangements

Checks to make before the first shift

• Check every licence on the SIA’s online register of licence holders: name, licence type, status and expiry date
• Make sure door supervisors wear their SIA licence where it can be seen while on duty
• Confirm who employs each door supervisor and who carries out right-to-work checks
• Ask for evidence of public liability and employer’s liability insurance
• Agree how incidents, injuries and complaints are reported to you, and how quickly
• Agree a named supervisor or head doorman for each shift

Some providers belong to the SIA’s voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS). Approved contractors are listed on the SIA’s public register, so you can verify any claim yourself. Membership is voluntary, so its absence alone does not mean a provider is non-compliant, but it is one useful signal among several.

Questions to ask a door supervision provider

• How will you staff our busiest nights, and how do you cover sickness or no-shows?
• Will we have a consistent team who know our venue and regulars?
• How do you train door supervisors on conflict, vulnerability and our policies?
• What do your incident reports look like, and when will we receive them?
• Who do we call if something goes wrong at 2am?
• What are your minimum shift lengths, notice periods and cancellation terms?